Make room Big 12, Conference USA will open its annual Media Days extravaganza at Wednesday at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

The Big 12 unofficially kicked off its 2018 season at the Ford Center, the Dallas Cowboys practice facility, Monday and on Wednesday, its Group of Five neighbor C-USA, both headquartered in Irving, Texas, will tee up the discussion about its upcoming season at the Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star. West Division teams will take the spotlight first that afternoon, followed by the East schools Thursday morning.

What will all the talk be about when coaches and players from all 14 football programs meet with media members as we’re 44 days from the official start to the 2018 season? Here’s are some story lines to watch for.

How C-USA follows up nine bowl bids

I don’t think anybody could’ve predicted nine of the 14 teams making a bowl game, a league-best mark last year. Conference USA champion Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State and Marshall all captured victories to cap their respective seasons, while FIU, North Texas, Southern Miss, UAB and Western Kentucky all lost theirs to give the conference a 4-5 bowl record.

Let us not forget the league had a 10th team bowl eligible, UTSA at 6-5, but there were three more teams than there were bowl spots, so the Roadrunners were left on the outside, looking in come December.

Getting nine teams to bowl games set a benchmark for the league. How do you follow that up? The next step for C-USA is a New Year’s Six Bowl Game. Since the College Football Playoff era begun in 2014, only two leagues have not represented the Group of Five programs on New Year’s: Conference USA and the Sun Belt.

FAU, coming off 11 wins, likely gives C-USA its best chance this year, but can the Owls or another team pull it off?

Will the real expectations please stand up?

Second place in the West all the way down to fifth. From various national college football outlets, the conference and other pundits’ preseason selections, that’s the wide range of predicted finishes for Louisiana Tech in 2018.

The Bulldogs were picked to win their division last year only to stumble throughout much of the season to end the regular season 6-6, becoming bowl eligible in the final week and then went on drum SMU, 51-10, in the Frisco Bowl.

Skip Holtz’s team without question ended last season with its best game, lifting up hopes and expectations once again for the Tech faithful heading into 2018. But what are the realistic expectations for Louisiana Tech this year?

It took his six years in Ruston, but Holtz finally has a returning starting quarterback in redshirt junior J’Mar Smith, whose inconsistency in his first full season starting last season may be one cause for discrepancy in preseason polls. Tech doesn’t return much in the run game, but should be good up front on the offensive line. Defense may be where the Bulldogs make their money this year with rising senior defensive end Jaylon Ferguson and Freshman All-American Amik Robertson is back for his sophomore campaign at corner.

Even Wilder West

While we’re at it, who’s really the front runner in C-USA’s West Division? Unlike the East where FAU received almost all the first-place votes, four different teams picked up at least one first-place vote in the West in the preseason media poll.

Last year’s West winner and this year’s predicted division champion North Texas returns the reigning conference Offensive Player of the Year junior quarterback Mason Fine along with standout receiver Jaylen Guyton and Michael Lawrence, but will any improvements be seen on the defensive side of the ball where the Mean Green gave up 35 points a game?

UAB stormed back last season after reviving its football program to advance to a bowl game and welcomes back the 10th-most experienced squad in the nation, including almost all of its production on offense with quarterback A.J. Erdely and running back Spencer Brown.

Southern Miss got a first-place vote, but lost its two best offensive players in Ito Smith and Korey Robertson. Many believe UTSA, which didn’t get a first-place vote, sports the best defense in Conference USA and if Frank Wilson can find some capable offensive guys, his team could be a dark horse.

FAU: Flash in the pan or staying power?

Heading into his first season with the Owls and in the league, everyone knew Lane Kiffin was going to have some effect. The former Alabama offensive coordinator took no prisoners, going 8-0 in C-USA play en route to leading FAU to its first ever conference championship.

Was Kiffin's success in 2017 a flash in the pan or can he and the Owls really start to build an empire? The offensive-minded head coach lost his quarterback from last year, but now puts his arms around former Florida State signal caller De’Andre Johnson in the huddle at the position.

Running back Devin Singletary, the reigning league MVP and preseason top offensive choice this season, is back along with 2018 preseason Defensive Player of the Year senior linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.

No question about it, FAU is once again loaded and the Lane Train looks to not have any brakes. Can anyone stop it?

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